1492 In the year of 1492, the man who brought tragedy to the Americas was seen as a hero to us, but little did we know what he really did. Every elementary kid learned that Christopher Columbus found America in an honorable way. We also have a national holiday just for him. They never told us though how he was looking for the Indies and thought he was in China. In reality he was lost and had no clue he was in America. They also did not show us how he actually treated the people on the islands when he met them. He was cruel to them just because they could not understand him and he took away their land just because he wanted to. Christopher Columbus was a really bad man, but was taught to us as a good man. What really happened in the year …show more content…

He wanted no women because they were of no help. He was going to use them as slaves since it was common and legal in Europe at that time. When the Spanish disrupted the Native ecosystems and the culture they forced Indians to work in mines.4 He was still sending slaves across the Atlantic to Europe but at one point Queen Isabella opposed outright enslavement and returned some American Indians to the Caribbean but other nations started doing the same as Columbus sending out and capturing slaves to other parts. One aspect of the slave trade was sexual.5 Many were raping the women and at one point Christopher rewarded his lieutenants with native women to rape. That is how cruel he was. He took advantage of these poor people taking them away from their families and hurting the women.
We should have known this since we were in elementary or middle school. Not in a harsh way but our teachers should have told us the truth. When someone is being cruel to others and don’t do things the right way, they should not be seen as heroes. It is nice thought to have a day off in school who does not want one, but we see Christopher Columbus as a good man when he is not. The poor people he took advantage of and the poor people that died when they didn’t know who the Spanish really were and what they really wanted. The Natives tried to help them and others on the island as well and the Spanish didn’t take that in consideration.